title: Read anything mean lately? associations between reading aggression in books and aggressive behavior in adolescents.
abstract: Although there have been hundreds of studies on media violence, few have focused on literature, with none examining novels. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to examine whether reading physical and relational aggression in books was associated with aggressive behavior in adolescents. Participants consisted of 223 adolescents who completed a variety of measures detailing their media use and aggressive behavior. A non-recursive structural equation model revealed that reading aggression in books was positively associated with aggressive behavior, even after controlling for exposure to aggression in other forms of media. Associations were only found for congruent forms of aggression. Implications regarding books as a form of media are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Stockdale
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Coyne
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Padilla-Walker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001877:Books; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D012919:Social Behavior; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology
keywords: adolescents; books; media; novels; physical aggression; reading; relational aggression